[Lily//James]
by cassie4
Summary: Lily is a popular ditz at Madison Elementary, forced to go to Hogwarts against her own will. Because of utter laziness, I will use reviews as an excuse and will not update until I feel like it, or until I get 100 reviews. :D
1. [Two Pranks and a Surprise]

[I'm new at this.. please give me some advice on what is told of the characters in JK Rowling's novels? thanks.. And please review. I own only Evelyn so far.]

"Like.. well, I _like_ him and everything, but like, he's just not like.. hot enough for my friends!" the girl said, twirling her hair and pondering the moments they'd spent together previously.

"Well, if he's not good enough for your friends, he's not good enough for you!" A blond girl declared, images of Jeremy suffering and dying in her mind. 

"Aww.. you're right. You're the best a girl could have, Evelyn!" Lily Evans looked out the window, her mind set. It never even crossed her mind that Evelyn was Jeremy's ex. She was breaking up with him, for sure. What a scum bag! He wasn't good enough for her. She was a _princess_, after all.. and went through boys like tissue. That didn't stop boys from liking her, ofcourse.

At five foot four and with ringlets of fiery auburn hair, Lily Evans was one of the most popular girls in school. Why she was, no one really knew. She had a way with people.. and a way with teachers. It seemed as if, whenever she did _not_ get her way, something disastrous always happened. And so she reigned, through terror and awe, at Madison Elementary.

Evelyn's evil thoughts about Jeremy were abruptly interrupted by Lily's sudden jumping off of her bed. 

"What was _that_ for?!" Evelyn grumbled, still wishing Jeremy would die.

"Well, if I'm going to break up with him, might as well do it now! I don't want to start middle school off with some jerk-off boyfriend!" Lily happily ran for the stairs, determined to break up with Jeremy at 10 in the morning. 

Evelyn made sure to primp up a bit before meeting Jeremy.. he _was_ her boyfriend once, after all. As she combed through her straight, blond hair, Evelyn made sure her dazzling green eyes were looking their best. She was already in jeans and a tee, but it suddenly dawned on her that Lily was still wearing her pajamas. _Silly girl_, she smiled.

"Um.. Lily, you're still in your--"

"LILY EVANS GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!!!" It was Petunia, Lily's sister. Lily tried to sneak by her room, but Petunia knew exactly where she was. Evelyn had seen this same scene at least five times this summer already. She burst out giggling, plopping back onto Lily's bed. 

From where she was, Evelyn couldn't hear what Lily was saying, but she could imagine the deliberately angelic face, staring wide-eyed at a bewildered Petunia. This time, they had pranked Petunia's current boyfriend, a certain Brian Malley, and, in falsetto voice, had pretended they were Petunia. "I love you Brian! Ohhh, I can't wait to meet you, let's go to the zoo tomorrow! I could just spend _hours_ there.. oh, I can't wait!" They had squealed, knowing very well that Petunia _hated_ the zoo, and the stenchiness of the animals. 

On top of that, they had added just a _little_ bit of hair dye in Petunia's shampoo, and the effects were quite noticeable to young Lily, who was on the verge of laughter but trying to keep a straight face. Petunia's hair was not blond, and not brunette. It wasn't that pretty dirty-blond color that many had been declaring 'the fad,' either. It was more like.. blotches of blond, and blotches of brunette. And Lily and Evelyn both knew very well, after a certain fiasco a few months back, that dying your hair another color the day after you've had it dyed, only turns it uglier. 

"Yes, Petunia?" Lily said in her most childish voice, impishly innocent. She tried to keep a straight face, but the corners of her mouth kept curling upwards.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY HAIR!!!" Although she was stick-thin, Petunia had quite a voice, and she used it now to bellow out her anger toward her stupid, ditzy sister. 

"Like, nothing, Petunia. Like, why would I mess with you hair?! I mean, just think about it.. duh!" Lily said nonchalantly, taking a few steps back toward the door. Just as she was about to step out of the house, Petunia dragged her into her room. 

"AND WHY AM I GOING ON A _DATE_ TO THE _ZOO_?!?!" Petunia was not only angry now.. she was enraged. 

"How do _I_ know? Because you like it? Because _Brian_ likes it?"

In a deadly quiet voice, Petunia told her sister, "I am currently single, Lily. I broke up with that jack ass yesterday. Now WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT!?"

Realizing what she had just done, Lily broke up in laughter. She couldn't contain it anymore. _Her_ sister, breaking up with someone? _Damn, he must have been a really big jerk!_ Petunia was desperate for boyfriends. She practically lived off of relationships and loved to gloat about the gifts her boyfriends gave her. She would never break it off with someone as rich as Brian!

Lily raced out of her house, barefoot and in her pajamas. Just then, she heard a huge _kaboom!_. She gazed at her neighborhood. None of the houses along the street had been bombed. As she was walking toward Jeremy's house, she wondered what had happened. All of a sudden, she smelled a noxious, terrible odor. _Euch! What is this terrible smell!?_ As she rounded the corner to Jeremy's street, only a few blocks away, she saw it.

A house had been stink-bombed, it appeared, "just for fun," for she saw two boys tumbling in laughter at the neighbor, who had been woken by the disgusting smell. A few minutes later, she saw a nasty looking woman come running out of the house, screaming threats at the boys. The boys acted just as she had that morning: innocent. They looked wide-eyed at the woman and said they knew nothing of it. "We don't know what dungbombs are!" they said innocently. Neither did she.

Smiling at the amusing spectacle, Lily continued onward, trying to remember which house was Jeremy's. And then it hit her-- that woman was no ordinary woman, she was Jeremy's mom! Lily couldn't stop laughing after that. Jeremy's mom had _hated_ her, right from the start. When she got help from Jeremy for math homework, she could always hear his mom screaming and talking rattily about her. She deserved that stink bomb.. and much more!

Lily carefully walked to the front door of the Terrey household and knocked. Since Jeremy's mom was busy seething over the two boys, Lily knew Jeremy would be the one to answer. 

Just as Jeremy opened the door, he was greeted with a bright, cheerful girl, singing "I don't like you anymore! I think we should stop going out!" He slammed the door on her, then opened it again.

"WHAT?!" he seemed to be wide awake now, despite his rumpled up hair. 

"Yup, I don't think we should go out anymore. But we can be friends!" Lily flashed a friendly smile. Just then, Evelyn walked up behind Lily, still giggling at Petunia's reaction. 

"Lily, you ran up here so quickly and I didn't have time to tell you that you're still wearing your pajamas!"

Lily fell down laughing as the door was slammed shut in her face again. Too many funny things in one morning made Lily a happy girl. She told Evelyn about Jeremy's reaction and about his house being bombed. Evelyn too broke out in laughter, and the two suddenly noticed that two boys were looking at them with curiosity.

"Hi!" a cute boy cried out. "I'm Sirius Black!"

"I'm Evelyn, and this is my friend Lily!" Evelyn cried out, happy for some boy-attention. She had been without a boyfriend for a full month now, and she was starting to feel a little lonely.

"I'm James," said another boy, his hair almost as messy as Jeremy's. 

Lily and Evelyn made their way to the boys' house, or what they assumed to be the boys' house. Compared to Jeremy's house, the house was large and magestic, and you could tell just from looking at the outside that there was something special about it. 

"I saw your little prank on Jeremy's house!" Lily blurted out in awe. 

The boys broke up in laughter and asked, "What did you think of it?"

"It was awesome! I need some pranks like those to play on my sister!" Lily replied enthusiastically, secretly hoping they might help her play some pranks on Petunia in the near future. 

Suddenly Petunia was heard stomping down the street, and, skinny as she was, she could stomp pretty loudly. 

"Uh, sorry guys, gotta run!" Lily and Evelyn sprinted back home, before Petunia could see them. They took the long way, but, because both were athletic stars, they had no trouble getting there before Petunia. Petunia, meanwhile, had been seething with anger, marching all around the street, trying to find Lily.

Lily and Evelyn raced upstairs, pretending to be asleep. They heard Lily's parents wake up and start making coffee. A smile crept up on both their faces. There was no way her parents would believe Petunia now! 

A heavy door slammed shut and Petunia marched in the house. Bitter argument ensued, just as always. Lily's parents didn't necessarily _favor_ Lily, it was just that Petunia was going through puberty while Lily was not, so Petunia was always bitter about everything, claiming that Lily was the favorite in the family. Lily just talked less and was censured less because of it. 

"But MOM! I swear! How else could I have this disgusting, horrible hair!? Do you think I'd do this to myself, just for the fun of it!?" Petunia was heard whining.

Petunia's mom and dad could be heard mumbling something, and Petunia was heard clearest, screaming her head off, at ten-thirty in the morning. 

Evelyn and Lily decided it was time to "wake up" and strolled leisurely to the breakfast table, Lily now dressed in a pink summer skirt and white tanktop. 

"Lily dearest, there was mail for you yesterday, I forgot to tell you because you were so busy doing whatever it was you were doing. Here it is.. for some reason, it wasn't in the mailbox. It was just.. dropped off. I saw an _owl_ flurry by the mailbox shortly after I got it, too. I think I'm seeing things.." her mother said, shaking her head. _It must be all the stress from work lately.._ she thought about her bossy colleagues and disgusting boss, with a headache at her temples already forming. 

Lily opened the letter happily. It wasn't every day she got such an important looking letter. Although her mother was probably too stressed out to notice it, there were golden letters on the envelope. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," it said in fancy lettering. She murmured the words aloud. 

"Well, what is it?" Lily's dad asked. 

"Well like, I dunno, it says 'Hogwards School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'," Lily said, in an indifferent tone. She knew where her place was--in Madison Middle School. _'Homecoming Queen and Top Student, Lily Evans!'_ Lily imagined herself as a beauty queen, receiving the Middle School Homecoming award, flashing a sexy smile that made all the boys' hearts melt. 

"Lily.. Lily!.. LILY!" Her dad's voice caught her attention.

"Yes Daddy?"

"Do you want to go to this place?"

An expression of disapproval immediately showed that she did _not_ want to go to Hogwarts. _It's probably all hogwash!_ she thought to herself, laughing at her own "clever" pun.

"OF COURSE she wants to go!" Lily's sister cut in, before Lily could have a word.

"Really? It's a boarding school though.." Lily's mother was mildly stirred from her thoughts. _Well.. at least, if she leaves Petunia won't be complaining all the time.. It might be for the best,_ she thought. She would find it hard, leaving her princess all by herself in a private school.. but hey, they had the money, and she'd be coming home every few months right? _It just might work.._

"Of course she wants to, doesn't she!" Petunia said enthusiastically, smiling evilly as she had gotten her revenge. She knew very well that her sister was "popular" at Madison Elementary and that she had every intention of going on to Madison MS, being miss popular there. _Well, I won't let that happen_, she grinned evilly.

"No, but I _don't_ want--" Lily tried desperately to say she didn't want to go, but Petunia's talkativeness wouldn't allow it. 

"Well it says here in the letter that you have to go to Diagon Alley, for your books," Lily's father said. 

"Are you sure about this? Wouldn't you rather learn about _physics_, and chemistry.." Lily could see her father going off to lala-land as well, just thinking about Einstein and his Grand Unification Theory. _Maybe he has a point,_ Lily thought. _I don't really want to go on learning about the Industrial Revolution.. magick sounds pretty cool, anyways. I mean, I've always dressed up as a witch on Halloween.._


	2. [Run to Sirius' House]

[Um.. my only noter-- who is Arabella? I've read of her, in LJ fanfics, but as I haven't really read all of the Harry Potter books.. yeah, I could use a little help on that one..]

"James Potter, please get down here this very instant," a commanding tone demanded, "You're going to be late _again!_"

"Yes, mother," James grumbled, wishing he could stay a bit longer with his friend Sirius to play pranks on random Muggles. _Maybe Mum will give me a bit of money so I can buy the newest toys at the Dragon's Lair!_ he thought happily, trying to console himself. Shopping with Mum was always so tedious.. not fun at all. He wished he could buy his books with Sirius instead.

As James slowly walked downstairs, clad in Muggle clothing, he was met immediately with rebuke. 

"What are you doing in those.. those.. those--"

"Muggle clothes!" Adam stepped in forcefully to finish his mother's sentence. Being a graduate of Hogwarts, and previously a Head Boy with highest honors at that, Adam was constantly scolding James, preparing him to take his former position at Hogwarts. _Too bad I'll never be like him_, James smiled as he thought about the first prank he played that morning. _No, I'll never be like him.. nor do I want to! Who wants to be boring?_

"I'm just fitting in with.. with other people!"

In reality, the neighborhood the Potters lived in was a known Wizarding neighborhood, and no Muggles even knew of the place. It did not exist on their maps or in their minds. James had been dressed in Muggle clothing because he had been playing pranks on a poor victim who had yelled at Sirius a few weeks ago at a Muggle library. The woman lived in a predominately Muggle neighborhood, so Sirius and James had to borrow clothes from Julio, one of the Potters' many family friends, who was also half Muggle as well.

"With _who_?!" James' mother exploded.

"I'm in no mood to take you to Diagon Alley! You're going to go yourself, even _if_ it's your first time!" _Ohhh.. she's angry now.. _James tried to plaster an expression of hurt pride, but his happiness could be seen leaking through as soon as his mother turned her back on him. 

"Can I go with Sirius?" James said quietly, barely above a whisper. When his mother was angry.. it was not a pretty sight. She was bound to explode at any minute.

"Go with whoever you want to go with, as long as they'll take you! Here's the list and some money." She practically threw the list and money at James and stormed off, fire poking through her ears. 

Shaking his head, Adam looked at James disapprovingly. "What are we going to do with you? How are you ever going to measure up to _me_? I'm counting on you to be Head Boy, you know." Adam knew what James had been up to that morning, waking up at eight o'clock in the morning and sneaking out to Sirius' house. _They'll never grow up_, he said, nodding sternly to himself. 

James raced out of the house, disregarding everything his brother had told him. He couldn't conceal the smile on his face. _Him?_ LIKE HIS BROTHER? Yeah right! He was not going to be all stuck up and haughty just because he had good grades. He was going to live it up and have fun! Which reminded him, of the first prank he and Sirius had decided on playing on the train to Hogwarts. 

James was halfway to Sirius' house by now, and all out of breath. He decided to slow down a little and walk for a bit. Sirius lived quite a few blocks away, and it always took at least half an hour to get there. But James was so excited that morning that he couldn't help but sprint the rest of the way. As he knocked on the Blacks' door, James felt like his lungs were about to burst. He also realized that he was still in Muggle clothing.

"Hey James! You going to Diagon Alley?" Sirius was at the door, surprised to see his friend again. 

"My...mo...so...here," James managed to say before heaving heavily and trying to get a bit more air into his lungs. 

"Whoa, whoa.. you okay?" Sirius looked kind of confused and offered James into the house. As he sent a house elf to get James a bit of water, Sirius looked at James with a worried eye. Then again, things like this happened all the time. Stuff was always happening with James and Sirius.

After a few seconds, James was breathing properly again.

"My mom said I could go with you to Diagon Alley, so I came here. And I want to get the newest toys, and Adam's so stupid, and--" James kept rambling, apparently very happy because he wouldn't have to go shop with his mother. That way he could buy all the toys he wanted _and_ miss out on the dreaded haircut.

"My! Well if it isn't James Potter.." A sly, calculating voice interrupted James from behind Sirius. It was his sister, who, put lightly, hated the two pranksters. Not only were forty percent of their pranks that summer played on Kate, the two sneaky children also loved teasing Kate about her boyfriend in front of Ms. Black. To her, they were pesky brats.. and pesky brats who would be spying on her for the next few years. She resented that she was only two years older than Sirius.

"Bug off, Kate," Sirius snarled. He hated his sister because she was always telling on them and getting them in trouble. She claimed to be "getting them ready" for the strict rules at Hogwarts. _Getting us ready my butt!_ Sirius thought bitterly. He had been shut up in his room for the past few days just because of his sister's stupid prattling and tattling. _Just because she's two years older than me doesn't mean she can do that!_

Kate had long been gone by now, and Sirius was staring blankly off into space, his eyes shining with a fiery passion to get even with his sister. 

"Are you even _listening_?!" James had been rattling on and on about a few of the tricks he had come up with in his head on his way here. He even knew of the exact ingredients he'd need--all supplied at the Dragon's Lair, of course. 

Before Sirius could mumble a yes, his mother came bustling in, asking whether Sirius was ready to take off for Diagon Alley.

"We better get a head start; there will be _so_ many people there today, as most people would have gotten their letters at 11 this morning! And oh!-- Who's this? James Potter!"

"Hi, Ms. Black.. I was wondering if I could go with you to buy my school supplies.. my mother isn't, er.. feeling so well, today.. and so--"

"Why of _course_ you may come! What a polite boy!" Sirius' mother never blamed James for any of the pranks they played; it was always solely Sirius' fault. Which was why she welcomed him so cordially. 

"Well, if we're going to buy your school supplies, we must be going soon, before all the shops are crowded! Kate, hurry up, and STOP TALKING TO THAT INSOLENT BOYFRIEND OF YOURS!"

And before he knew it, James was screaming "Diagon AllllleeeeYYYYY!" into a fireplace.


	3. [Two Angry Evans]

[Thanks for the reviews, please leave more, for help and encouragement.. Someone rather criticized my using of the word 'magick' before, and I think I used it as a bit of inspiration to show how much Lily actually knows about magic. To that noter.. does that make it sound more offensive?]

"Mum.. Dad? I seriously don't.. really.. well, like, I don't really like.. um.. Mum?" Lily was heard blabbing, trying to get the attention of her parents. 

Evelyn just watched on, shocked and surprised. Her parents had told her of one of her third cousins who was disowned and dismembered from the family-- precisely **because** she had gotten that **same** letter, with the shiny gold lettering, and had been so determined to go to the magic school. Her parents had ridiculed the girl, now in her mid-twenties, but Evelyn herself did not know much about her long lost cousin, except that she was an outcast and unworthy of mention in the family tree. She had been told about magic, but she knew Lily hadn't, from the look in her eyes.

Wizardry and Witchcraft at Hogwarts had nothing to do with the goths hanging around those high schools that she and Lily had seen in those teen-flicks. It had nothing to do with wicca, or the Devil, or the witches that they dressed up as every year. She, at least, knew this much about magic. And although she had never really thought it had existed (she thought it had just been an excuse to kick the poor girl out of the family), she always held a sort of wonder that would have gotten herself booted from the Sailles family toward witchcraft. 

And now her friend was going to this mystic, imaginary castle? Evelyn knew from the look on Lily's face that she did _not_ want to go, but she also knew from the look on Petunia's face that this was one of the rare times that Petunia would win. Something about the situation startled her; it was as if this was the final time she would ever see Lily.. sane, again. As if on cue, Evelyn's head started pounding like mad. _Jesus! Must be thinking too hard again.. like, I really gotta stop doing that, ugh.._ Resolving not to get any more 'brain cramps' from thinking too much, Evelyn started thinking about Jeremy and the times they had together.

"You'd better hurry up if you're going to go!" Lily's father said, somehow confusing Petunia's squeaky, suddenly enthusiastic voice with that of Lily's. 

Evelyn realized that, although she knew the Evans very well, this was definately a beyond-private family situation. After all, it was this school that had caused the infamous black spot on her own family's history. Being a quiet (though often giggly and mischievous) girl by nature, Evelyn decided to slip out of the house and let the situation resolve itself. _Lily will dial me up later to tell me what happens. She does it all the time, like regardless if I was there or not, anyways..._ And with that, the girl slipped out, unnoticed by all members of the Evans family.

"But Daddy! Like don't you see--"

"Yes, it says here! Buy your books at Diagon Alley! Oh! You'd better hurry! Only two days before school starts! We'd better go today!" Petunia rumbled, looking over Lily's shoulder at the list of school books and places to buy school supplies. Lily could feel her sister's lips curl upward, in that malicious smile.

Suddenly, Lily knew something was going to happen. She couldn't control it unless she calmed down--immediately. This was exactly what had happened at school in previous years that gave young Lily a sort of superiority over others. _One, two, three, four, five.. **breathe**, in and out.. in and out_, she thought to herself soothingly. She had been so busy soothing herself and calming herself down, so that she wouldn't make the toaster fly up into the wall and drop on her sister's head, or something of the sort (it wasn't that she didn't want it to, but anything of the sort happened, she knew she'd be going to that stupid school for sure), that she hadn't heard her parents agree on taking her out that day.

"... your shoes... your shoes... Lily!"

Lily jerked her attention from the images of lilies in bloom in a clear, fresh lake that were materializing in her mind as a result of the meditation phase she had just induced. 

"Yes Mommy, I love my shoes, they're Sketchers, like the ones that like Britney wore to that one concert and like at that one time I saw her at the mall--"

"Honey, we're taking you to Diagon Alley to get your books now, now **go. get. your. shoes**! If you want to go to this Hog school of yours--which you just spent half an hour confirming--you had better go get your **shoes** on!" Lily could tell from the tone in her mother's voice that she was not very happy. But what was she supposed to do now!? She didn't _want_ to go to some Hogwatt school! _I want to be Prom Queen, Homecoming Queen, Beauty Queen, Everything Queen!_

Her father, too, she had noticed, was becoming irritable and testy. She couldn't blame her parents. Everyone's parents were like that lately. The economy was down and all her parents' colleagues were being fired. Almost every week, Lily heard news of so-and-so's mom or dad being laid off. She knew it might not be long before her own parents were laid off. What she didn't understand was why they were so concerned with having and keeping a job. _Grammie left us ten million to spend, what are they so worried about?_ she often wondered. Money, and popularity, and brand names, were all there was to life. Grades were important, too. They were reputation boosters for Princess Lily.

She put on her shoes and followed her mother into their expensive silver sports car. Her mother quickly opened the door and promptly got in the car and shut the door with a huff. Lily could feel the car shaking from the weight-shifting her mom had caused by getting into the car.

Lily opened the door to the car and said meekly, afraid of rebuke, "Mom, Dad, I don't want to go to that school."

"WHAT?!" The whole family practicality sawed off the innocent girl's head with their piercing, biting tones. 

"NO. You are going to that school, whether you like it or not, young lady. We gave you the full morning to choose, and you wasted perfectly good time that I could have been using to catch up on bills and stock market reports. And I sacrificed all that time for **you**. I **asked** you if you wanted to go there, and you said yes! In fact, you asserted that you were going to go _more_ than just a few times, young lady!"

"You are going now, whether you like it or not. Do you see me quitting work and then going back because of my stupid boss?! NO. I've stayed at the same company for the past five years! And you're staying at that wishwash school for seven years--_and that is the end of it!_"

Lily couldn't believe it. What had just happened!? She knew she had told her parents that she didn't want to go! She was raging with anger now, and stomped on the car. Lily was not angry often. She was more often found plotting for revenge than angry. But now she was angry, and she didn't care about what would happen if a toaster fell on Petunia's head, so she just sat in the car, seething with anger.

All of a sudden, a tissue box came attacking at Petunia, hitting the sister's head repeatedly. Petunia, scared out of her wits, could not utter a single word as she was beaten by the soft container. In fact, the beating was planned out so perfectly, that it made no sound at all. Lily didn't know where she had gotten these powers from, or why, but she knew they acted up when she was enraged to a certain point--which didn't happen all that often, of course. 

"Ahh---duh....kkkkhhhd...." Petunia was stuttering, unable to form a chain of words to tell her parents what was happening.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans were too angry to care, at the moment, anyway. They were both lost in thought, fuming at their spoiled daughters and messed up careers. They drove on silently, until they reached the designated spot. 

Mrs. Evans held a slip that came with the letter in her hand. Written in calligraphy upon the age-long parchment were:

¡@

"... To get to Diagon Alley by car, drive to Amnesty Street and drop your child off. Have Ms. Lily Evans clap her hands thrice and say 'Lily here has come sincere, Give some help and lend an ear!' If parents would like to stay with the child, that is fine, but most certainly unnecessary. Ms. Lily Evans should be back within three hours..."

¡@

The car slowed down to the head of Amnesty Street, and the expressions on Mr. and Mrs. Evans' faces softened. The tissue box immediately ceased its attack on Petunia. 

"Okay dear, it says here for you to clap three times and say these words: 'Lily here has come sincere, Give some help and lend an ear!' We'll wait here and see what happens. I'm not quite ready for all this hocus-pocus nonsense.. but this school claims to be the best. _Only the best for our princess_, right?"

And Lily saw in her father's eyes that he really meant it. Reluctantly, Lily got off the car and clapped three times.

"Lily here has come sincere, Give some help and lend an ear.." Just as Lily finished off the quaint little phrase, the two boys she had seen previously at Jeremy's lawn popped up, as if out of nowhere. Following behind were a sour-looking girl and the two boys' parents, she presumed. 

The Evans drove up to the family that had just popped up and Lily's parents said hello to the boys' parents.

"Hi, we're the Evans!"

"Hello, we're the Blacks. We're a wizarding family and these are our children, Sirius and Kate. There's another, but he's already graduated from Hogwarts.."

"Oh! So you are back-to-school shopping? Do you think you could help our little Lily out? She's also going to that.. school..."

It was obvious neither side could fully comprehend what the other was saying. But the word "help" registered with the Blacks, a very warm-hearted family. 

"Yes, sure, we'll help her out! We'll send her home, too, it's all good!"

And with that, the fancy silver car drove off, bewildering the wizards. Sirius, Mr. Black, Ms. Black, Kate, and James were all wondering the same thing: _What was that?!_


	4. [An Encounter with the Blacks]

As soon as the silver car sped off, Mr. and Mrs. Black started interrogating poor little Lily Evans. _Oh my God, where is Evelyn when I need her?! Wait.. where is that silly girl?! She's my best friend! And she just.. all of a sudden disappeared! Like I remember, just this morning when we were all going to Jeremy's house.. and like when Tuna got all angry.. and so where is she now!?!?_ Lily thought, as she was beleaguered with questions. 

"What was that silver thing?"

"Hi, I'm Kate."

"So where are you from, Lily?"

"Do you know what magic is?"

"Hi, we're--"

"I know you two! I saw you two in the morning! Except--"

Receiving death glares from the two mischievous boys, who all of a sudden looked quite serious, Lily thought it best to keep quiet. _Like what are they all freaking out about now!? Phht.. **Boys**..._ the girl thought chidingly, though she gave in. 

The Blacks were now looking at her curiously; it was the first time this bright little girl had spoken, although she spoke in awe of the two rabblerousers. 

"So tell me.. how do you know James and Sirius?"

Fumbling nervously, Lily didn't know what to say. James and Sirius were glaring at her really hard, and, as she was to be stuck with them for the next seven years, she didn't want to make any bad first impressions. _Maybe I can be the Beauty Queen at Hogsworth!_ she thought dreamily. 

"Um.. well.. "

Noticing that the girl was really feeling uncomfortable, Mr. Black spoke up. 

"Well, I think we should get going! There are so many people there already, I bet!" Lily shot a grateful smile at the knowing Mr. Black. He, too, had once been young.. and, well.. rather mischievous. He too had once been young.. and cared about what others thought, about being Mr. Popular. 

As the group hurried on, Mrs. Black chided the two children while Sirius, James, and Lily tagged along in back. 

Kate spoke up. "Mom.. _Sirius_ here has James to talk to, and Lily is finding herself comfortable with those two idiots.. so I was wondering," she said with her sweetest, most malicious smile, "Could I go off with my friends too?"

"Honey, I know you're at that age, and--"

"But _Mooommm_! You don't understand! Sirius is with his friends, and I want to be with mine!"

"Just let her go," Mr. Black said, annoyed with his daughter's whiny voice.

Kate happily skipped off to The Leaky Cauldron, where a few other sly-looking third-year Hogwarts students were already waiting for her. She shouted to her parents, "I'll be home around midnight!" and quickly ran off before Mrs. Black could object.

As Mrs. Black sighed at "teenagers today" and worried over her daughter's safetiness, Lily was glancing shyly at the two boys. 

"So what was your name again? I didn't quite catch it.."

"I'm Lily.. and like you're.. James?"

The boy scoffed, "Hah! If I were James Potter I'd kill myself first!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" James asked, play-punching his friend. 

Lily was confused; she had thought that James and Sirius were brothers. 

"You two-- aren't.. like.. ?"

"Uh, lady, we can't mind read. Wanna specify?"

"Are you guys brothers?" she asked bluntly.

The two boys roared with laughter. "YOU THOUGHT WE WERE RELATED?" 

"I'd kill myself first!" the two replied in unison.

__

Oh.. so they're just really tight friends.. At this, Lily's thoughts wandered back to Evelyn and she wished her best friend were here with her now. Then again, she knew Evelyn wouldn't really have done anything, as she switched best friends routinely--almost as routinely as she switched boyfriends. 

"So you're going to Hogwarts?"

"Yeah.. like I don't really even know what it is, but like my stupid sister forced me into all this.." a downcast expression settled on the unknowing girl's face, and she was met with indignation from the two boys, who adamantly supported their beloved Hogwarts.

"What are you talking about!? Hogwarts is a wonderful place! I've spent the past ten years of my life training _for_ Hogwarts and wishing to be in Gryffindor and practicing Quidditch!"

"Yeah! I've spent the past two years watching my sister come home, laughing and joking about her friends in Hogwarts, even _if_ she's in Slytherin, and about Quidditch! I mean, all the chances for playing pranks, it's the _perfect_ environment!"

Lily cowered back, fearful she had said the wrong thing. She looked so comical, an innocent harmlessness about her face, masked with a film of confusion, that the boys couldn't resist but laugh again. 

"It's okay, you'll come to like Hogwarts. It's not as bad as you'd think," James smiled and told Lily. 

Conversation went like that for the rest of the day, the boys laughing and making Lily feel uncomfortable, and Lily just feeling really confused. By the end of the day, Lily had learned that Quidditch was the **only** sport that wizarding kids played, and therefor practically as big as religion in the magical world. She understood that there were four houses to Hogwarts, one for "nice airheads", one for "Kates", one for "quiet kids", and one for "the cool kids," according to the two boys. She learned about some of the fun tricks that James and Sirius had played on Kate and unsuspecting victims. Lily was starting to believe that Hogwarts wouldn't be so bad after all.. _But it'll never measure up to Madison MS_, she thought regretfully. 

She had learned that balls were not frequent at her new school.. not as frequent as they were at Madison Middle School, anyway, where there were dances and celebrations almost every other week. _What am I going to do!?_ she thought desperately. Another drawback for Lily was the total lack of fashion in Hogwarts. "We only wear these robes," Sirius had said nonchalantly; _his_ mind was on fooling the Potions Professor, whoever he/she ended up to be. 

Lily hadn't really noticed until the day came to an end, that James had been dressed in normal clothing-- khakis and a tee-- while the rest of the Blacks had been in graceful, long, flowing robes. There _was_ a certain sense of style to them, though it was minimal. Waistlines could be fitted, but the sleeves and general form could not be helped. _Well, at least I'll be saving Mum and Dad some money,_ Lily thought gloomily. 

Lily had been particularly excited when she was fitted for a wand. Although James and Sirius had to go through quite a few wands, impatiently, before they found theirs, Lily had fit into her wand perfectly, the first time. It had been a unicorn's hair or something or other; she couldn't really remember. It sounded majestic and grand when the wise old wizard had given it to her, though, and she was happy holding it, a sort of amorphous but ever-present power clutched under her slender, pretty fingers. 

The two boys raced off to the Dragon's Lair, a chain store that was also part-Muggle. The guy who had started the toy store, Lily was told, was now a millionaire, because he had cleverly mixed Muggle and Wizard elements together, to make the funniest, trickiest, and most appealing toys ever. They were "the new buzz," according to Mr. Black, who worked on the "Ministry of Magic" in a newspaper section as a reporter-sort, but with a higher status.

Lily wasn't quite sure about everything she was told; terms and phrases were swirming through her head at the end of the day, while she held a few mystical-looking books, magical jelly beans (she was told that they wouldn't lead to Heaven, or a giant's-haven, _and_ that they had nothing to do with Jack nor his beanstalk), chocolate frogs, new robes (pink and lavender ones which were just stylish enough for her.. with the proper corrections, which she'd spend the next few days on, of course), and her wand. Her cauldron and the rest of her school supplies were apparently being shipped, or mailed, or poof-ed, off to Hogwarts, as they were too large and cumbersome for her to bring home by herself. 

As the Blacks, James, and Lily came out of the last shop, Mr. Black exhaustedly asked where Lily lived. It was already getting dark, and Lily was afraid it might be well after eight by the time she got home. 

After she gave the Blacks her address, she added in a worried voice, "Um, I'm not sure how long it's going to take for me to get home, but like I really need to go soon, I mean, with traffic and all that.." The Blacks and James had a hearty laugh. 

"It'll take but a second," explained Mr. Black. "We don't have time to explain clearly right now, as it really _is_ getting late and all, but basically us magical folk use a system called the Floo, and it gets us where we want to be going extremely quickly. As you're in a Muggle family, I'm not sure whether the Floo connects to your home, or whether your parents will be particularly.. uh.. delighted, that you come home that way..--"

"But there's a stop, I'm definately sure, at your neighbor's house!" Mrs. Black cut in. "Mary and I are good friends, she certainly won't mind if we use her chimney just this once!"

Lily was, once again bewildered at Wizard technology and just nodded, too confused and too lazy to ask about this Floo system of networking. "So how do I get home?" she asked them bluntly.

"Easy. Just say the name of the place-- in your case, the street. Actually.. don't say it, scream it. Might work a bit better! Here, I'll sprinkle the dust, and you just scream out the street that you live on, alright?" Mr. Black said calmly, as if it were perfectly normal. And as he sprinkled some of the tintillating Floo powder into the open fire of The Leaky Cauldron, Lily screamed at the top of her lungs--

"VOLDRIDDLE DRIVE!" 


End file.
